Holy Prophet Zephaniah

Life

Zephaniah was from Mount Sabarath, from the tribe of Simeon. He lived and prophesied in the seventh century before Christ during the time of the pious King Josiah of Judea. He was a contemporary of the Prophet Jeremiah. Having great humility and a mind pure and lifted up to God, he was made worthy of seeing into the future. He foretold the day of God's wrath; punishment upon Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Nineveh, Jerusalem, Egypt. He saw Jerusalem as a rebellious city, polluted, oppressive. Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow. Her prophets are light and treacherous persons; her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law (Zeph. 3:1-4). Foreseeing the time of the Messiah's coming, he cries out with enthusiasm: Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! (Zeph. 3:14). This seer reposed in the place of his birth, to await the general resurrection and reward from God.

From the Hymn of Praise

John the Silent, God's laborer,Walks through the desert, solitary hermit,When someone cries: barbarians are coming,Behold, how they raise dust on the road!